Iz funny.

This is a most entertaining bit of Tolkien arcana* dressed up as a snark article.


*To me, at least.

Remember the 1980s?

The Simpsons can still bring it, at least for the couch gag.

Am I posting too much? Sorry. Much goodness on the internet today. And I plan to put a few comics-related links up, if my other pressing duties like watching Simpsons clips don't interfere too much.

Force Awakens rebuttal

You may have seen the original post that this epically angry rant is about. Even if you didn't, some of the same questions probably occurred to you. I think some of them survive the rejoinder, but on balance the force is stronger with the second guy.

Template for improving our book discussions?

Or just for using with your kids: Discussion Questions from the Children's Library of Bitter Truth.

Based on this recommendation, I would NOT recommend hiring these people

The Brilliance of Kylo Ren

I rather liked this interpretation of the Kylo Ren character:

The presentation of Kylo Ren as a whiny, insecure little shit is brilliant because, frankly, whiny insecure little shits are usually the people who actually do become evil in real life. 

Nerds want a Star Wars bad guy to be a stone-cold badass like Darth Vader because this lets them off the hook for self-examination, as nerds are absolutely nothing like Darth Vader.  Kylo Ren, however, is a nerd: he acts like one, he has the backstory of one, and when he takes his helmet off, he even looks like one.  Far from ruining the film, this actually makes it the most mature entry to date in the Star Wars canon, because it forces the greatest amount of self-examination on the part of its core audience.

Surprise, surprise...

Now it's official.  I'm sure you're shocked.  Just shocked.